NBA

Report: LeBron will not waive no-trade clause this season

By NBA.com Global on Feb 07, 2018 07:57 AM

FILE - WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 17: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white. LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers gets ready in the locker room before the game against the Washington Wizards on December 17, 2017 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

NBA.com staff report

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the thick of much of the trade-deadline chatter buzzing about these days. Talk of moves to improve the roster are often thought of as two-fold: first, to help the Cavs make a fourth straight NBA Finals appearance and, two, to show superstar LeBron James that the team remains serious about contending.

While James can opt out of his contract this summer and enter free agency, some teams around the league have reportedly wondered about James dropping the no-trade clause in his contract. But James has no plans of waiving that clause and is determined to see the season through with Cleveland, writes Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports:

As NBA teams do their due diligence on his no-trade clause and the potential of him dropping it, LeBron James remains determined to see the season through in Cleveland and will not waive the clause, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Cleveland has attempted to behave as a buyer at the trade deadline, but the first approach toward a possible rebuild would be to examine trading the team’s core players — a conversation the Cavaliers have yet to broach with James, and both sides understand his position to play the season out, league sources said. Over the past several days, several teams around the league have openly wondered about whether Cleveland would look into James dropping his no-trade — which would clear the way for a potential pursuit.

James signed a three-year, $100 million contract in 2016 to return to the Cavaliers, which included a no-trade clause, and he remains solely focused on competing for a championship in Cleveland this season.

James has publicly stated he will evaluate his free agency after the season ends.